[governance] ITU Broadband Commission

Sun Apr 8 23:46:00 EDT 2012

On Monday 09 April 2012 07:48 AM, parminder wrote:
>
> The original issue in this discussion was whether conflict of interest 
> is an important principle to ensure and fight for with regard to 
> public policy and governance systems. MS-ism (multistakeholderism)  
> seeks to avoid this question - and that is what I see in John Curran's 
> response, diverting the issue towards a 'we should participate in any 
> case' discussion.

Not to look like myself avoiding the participation question;

It is a normal neolib response to claims by the marginalised regarding 
participation, distribution etc to put the 'responsibility' on the 
marginalised themselves, like the oft used concept of 'individual 
responsibility'. (See the health cover debates in the US for instance.)

So the theory and its practical manifestations are quite coherent :).

It is not that those in the civil society raising questions of propriety 
in our governance/ policy systems have necessarily been lazily waffling 
around and not doing what they need to. One would need to examine the 
conditions and resources of the progressive civil society that seeks to 
stand up against the most powerful before sanctimoniously telling them 
to work better and harder and not be a cry baby.

parminder

> This avoidance is because MS-ism at its heart is based on an inversion 
> of the long held sacrosanct democratic principle that if one has a 
> clear private interest in an outcome of a policy/ governance system, 
> he/she should not be a part of the 'high echelons' of the system.  A 
> stakeholder after all is basically one with direct 'narrow' private 
> interest or stake in a policy outcome. There is no attempt at 
> achieving of a higher, no doubt politically constructed, public 
> interest. MSism seeks a patch work of accommodating private interests, 
> with the involved actors at the policy table legitimately pursuing 
> their narrow private interests. Obviously, the most powerful are most 
> able to be present and drive their agenda (there being no 'conflict of 
> interest' related norm) ...... Additionally, MSism, by its convenient 
> ploy of the 'need for consensus', also by its very nature lead to 
> status quoist, conservative politics.
>
> Traditional democratic norms and systems were built, for instance,  to 
> keep powerful businesses from directly shaping political decisions. 
> That of course is seen as 'the' problem by neolibs. MS-ism as a 
> political system is their clever answer to the problem. In order to 
> co-opt civil society, and overall present a more acceptable image, 
> MSism seeks to take up the vocabulary, and outwardly the concerns, of 
> the long standing demand and struggles for participatory democracy, 
> deepening democracy etc.... Some civil society people have considered 
> it a useful tactical move to go along with this much more powerful 
> global move towards MS-ism (especially when participatory/ deepening 
> democracy etc have not had that much success).
>
> My view is that at this junction we need to review - is it that we 
> were able to co-opt the power of the global capital to open up more 
> participatory space, or, whether, we have got co-opted in the big 
> business and neolib plan to supplant democracy.
>
> parminder
>
> On Sunday 08 April 2012 09:09 PM, Avri Doria wrote:
>> On 7 Apr 2012, at 16:22, Lee W McKnight wrote:
>>
>>    
>>> My 2 cents is the general principles/objectives being pushed by the ITU's Broadband Commission are not bad, but the fact of the matter is it more a classic high-level talkathon opportunity than anything else. Submitting docs to them is likely not worth the time it would  as Michael suggests. And for CS, certainly not worth the bother of trying to shape/steer at this late date when the dye is cast.
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>> I am not sure I understand why submitting existing docs, by someone who knew what to submit, was not worth the bother.
>>
>> On the topic of participating or not.  I think that is the wrong question.
>>
>> If the topic is important and the venue relevant, CS should participate.
>>
>> The fact of whether we are included at the table or not, would seem to dictate tactics as opposed to participation.  There are different ways by which CS makes it views heard, when it has a seat at the table or  when it is forced to stand outside the door making itself heard.  And if CS is being excluded from this table, and we thinking there is any chance they are going to do something harmful to the public good, then we should be screaming our heads off outside the door and should gear up a campaign to do so.
>>
>> One of the disadvantages of the multistakeholder model (i bet some of you thought i never saw a disadvantage to the model) is that when we are not included we just sort of whinge and sputter.  We have lost some of the anger that made CS a force at WSIS and this is partly because we have changed over all of our methods to Multistakeholder reasonableness.  And personally I think one of the reasons we see a pull back in the support of the multistakeholder model by the other stakeholders is that we have become docile, or even invisible, when excluded.
>>
>> The only time many of the others will allow CS at the table is when they think that excluding CS will be more annoying than having us at the table is.  To expect governments or business to it because it is the right thing, is sort of wishful thinking.  governments do what make retention of power easiest and business do what maximizes profit.  So CS has to be prepared to be  disruptive of easy power and profits if it wants to be included in the discussions.  And sometimes it just has to flex its disruptive muscles just to remind the powers that be that it is ready to do so.
>>
>> my thoughts for an easter morning.
>>
>> avri
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>    
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